Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.

Los Angeles, California 90095-1575

Abstract: Ralph Freud (1901-1973) was a stage actor in Detroit before becoming the director at the Pasadena Community Playhouse. In
8 years, he played over 200 roles and directed more than 40 productions. In 1938, he became a lecturer for theater courses
in the English Department at UCLA and was active in the creation of a separate Theater Arts Department, where he became a
full professor and emeritus professor. The collection consists of taped interviews with theater, motion picture, and television
professionals, conducted by Ralph Freud, Victor Jory, and Professor Freud's students from UCLA's Theater Arts Department.

Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

Language:
English.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including
copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds
the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

A copy of the original version of this online finding aid is available at the UCLA Department of Special Collections for in-house
consultation and may be obtained for a fee. Please contact:

Public Services Division

UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections

Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library

Box 951575

Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575

Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific
Time)

Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Ralph Freud Theatre, Motion Pictures and Television Interviews (Collection 542). Department of Special
Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Freud was born in England in 1901; brought to the U.S. as a child; attended Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania and Detroit
public schools; at 20 he became a member of the Bonstelle Stock Company of Detroit, and the next year toured as a general
understudy for the Sothern and Marlowe Shakespeare Company; moved to California in 1922 and became director at the Pasadena
Community Playhouse, and in 8 years, played over 200 roles and directed more than 40 productions; became head of the San Francisco
Federal Project in 1937; first came to UCLA to teach two summer courses in 1932; in 1938 became a lecturer for theater courses
in the English Department; he was active in the creation of a separate Theater Arts Department, where he became a full professor
and emeritus professor; died on November 4, 1973.

Biographical Narrative

Ralph Freud was born in London, England in 1901 and moved to the United States as a child. Freud attended Mercersburg Academy
in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania and Detroit public schools. At the age of 18 Freud joined the Detroit Arts and Crafts Theater.
In 1920 Freud became a member of the Bonstelle Stock Company of Detroit, Michigan. While in Michigan, Freud attended Detroit
Junior College then the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. In 1921 Freud toured as a general understudy for the Sothern and
Marlowe Shakespeare Company. Freud moved to California in 1922 and became director of the Pasadena Community Playhouse. In
8 years, Freud played over 200 roles and directed more than 40 productions. In 1924, Freud and Gilmore Brown established the
Playbox Theater in Los Angeles, the first arena stage theater in the United States. In 1933 Freud assumed the position of
director for the San Francisco Jewish Community Theater. He became the head of the San Francisco Federal Theater Project in
1937. Freud first came to UCLA to teach two summer courses in 1932. From 1938 to 1947 Freud was a full-time lecturer for drama
courses in the English Department. Freud played an active role in the creation of a separate Theater Arts Department in 1947.
He served as head of the Theater Arts Department from 1947 to 1953 and was chairman of the department from 1953 to 1969. Freud
also directed the Ramona Pageant in Hemet, California form 1952 to 1966. Freud became a full professor of Theater Arts at
UCLA in 1954 and was granted emeritus status in 1969. In 1969 the Theater Arts Department dedicated its theater, build in
1962, to Freud, naming it the Ralph Freud Playhouse. The department also established a fellowship named the Ralph Freud Fellowship
Fund in Acting in Freud's honor in 1969. Freud died on November 4, 1973.

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Freud, Ralph, 1901-1973--Archives.

University of California, Los Angeles--Dept. of Theater Arts--Faculty--Archival resources.

Actors--United States--Interviews.

Motion picture producers and directors--United States--Interviews.

Audiotapes.

Related Material

A Career in Professional and University Theater [oral history transcript] / Ralph Freud, interviewee. UCLA Oral History Department interview, 1969. Available at Department
of Special Collections, UCLA.